Instructor Response and Availability Standards

As you work on creating or modifying an online course, be sure to share with your students standards for your response and availability. Here are some suggestions:

• Share with your students your availability by indicating turn-around times for grading various assessments, assignments and responding to discussion board postings and email messages.
• Be sure information on response times and availability is indicated in the course syllabus or a “Read Me First” module so students know what to expect regarding instructor responses and grading.
• Indicate for students your availability regarding the degree of participation in discussions (e.g., will you be active, an observer only, or respond only late in the discussion after students have interacted).
• Indicate your availability using other media (phone, in-person, online chat), if applicable.

Other course design tips are available at http://ce-annotations.blogspot.com/search/label/Course%20Design. This information is derived from the Quality REACHE rubric (see http://cite.nwmissouri.edu/QualityReache/).